BLACKSBURG – Last winter, when Victor Harris changed course and announced he was returning to Virginia Tech after originally declaring for the NFL Draft, he said one of his goals was to lead the Hokies to another ACC Championship. Check. Another was to be named a first-team All-American. Check.

Sporting News magazine awarded Harris that honor Wednesday, making him the 19th first-team All-American in Virginia Tech football history. For Harris, it is his first honor of such magnitude.

Sporting News is one of the five recognized All-America squads along with AFCA, FWAA, Associated Press and Walter Camp. The NCAA officially recognizes All-Americans selected by these five to determine consensus All-Americans.

Harris keeps alive an impressive streak by defensive coordinator Bud Foster. He has had at least one All-American from the defense in each of his 14 seasons as either coordinator or co-coordinator at Tech. This includes 2004 when Sports Illustrated honored two players, even though that is not one of the five major All-America squads.

“Macho came back for the right reasons – to come back and lead this team to a championship and to improve himself physically and mentally,” Foster said. “He came back to be a leader and to grow as a person. I’m really, really happy for him. It’s a very deserving reward for someone who has stepped up and had a tremendous season.”

Harris is one of two cornerbacks chosen for the first team, joining Vanderbilt’s D.J. Moore. Harris has six interceptions this year, returning two for touchdowns. The Highland Springs, Va., native also returns kicks and has made contributions on offense this year. He has also been named second-team All-America by the AP and first-team All-America by Sports Illustrated.

Harris made the move to boundary corner, taking over for Brandon Flowers after he declared for the Draft. Harris, Flowers - who is now starring with the Kansas City Chiefs - and Jimmy Williams are the only cornerbacks in school history to be named first-team All-Americans. Anthony Midget, Ronyell Whitaker and DeAngelo Hall were all cornerbacks who earned second- or third-team All-America honors at some point in their careers.